I'm Still Here, Elsa
by iBayfully
Summary: Even after The Great Thaw, Elsa has nightmares - constantly. She sees Anna freeze to death over and over again, and one night, she can't take it anymore. Post Frozen one-shot, not Elsanna. Prompt artwork done by ASAMESHII on deviantART.


**A/N: I haven't gotten a response from the artist, but I wanted to badly post this – if anyone is at all uncomfortable with that, please tell me. And if you are ASAMESHII yourself and would like it to be removed, I'll be more than happy to follow your orders.**

**EDIT: No need for any of that now; ASAMESHII has given me permission to use the piece of artwork. **

**For the story behind this, I used ASAMESHII's piece of art "Still beating" on dA as sort of a prompt to write this. It's short, but I hope it's something. I wanted to post something before Chilling Out Ch 10 :P Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Frozen or anything affiliated with it.

_Thump, thump._

_ Thump, thump._

_ And then there was a silence._

_ "Anna!" Elsa cried out. "Anna, please!" She sobbed into the frozen dress of her younger sister, grasping for something familiar. "P-please, don't leave me!"_

_ But the princess's eyes were cold and hard, staring motionlessly at the helpless queen._

_ "N-no…"_

It was like this for weeks.

Elsa experienced the terrible nightmare multiple times, watching Anna freeze to death over and over again.

She'd watch, crying out, as the frost – _her _frost – traveled up Anna's arm at a dangerously fast speed, crawling to her shoulders and up to her face.

She'd watch Anna become an unmoving statue of ice, her last breath fading away into the cold air.

She'd watch it every night, knowing all too well that it could've been a reality, and because of her.

This time was different.

It was in the middle of the evening. Elsa gasped, sitting up abruptly as she saw the scene slowly fade away.

The queen panted, pressing down on the mattress for support.

"Anna…Anna!"

In the blink of an eye, she was out of her bed.

Pushing away a tear, she ran straight across the hallway, nearly tripping as she neared Anna's room.

Not bothering to knock, she shoved open the door, heading straight for her younger sister, who was sound asleep in her bed.

"Anna!" Elsa screeched, still believing her dream was a reality. She whipped the blanket off of the princess swiftly, waking her from her slumber.

"E-Elsa?" Anna blinked. "Elsa, what's going –"

"Sit up!" The queen commanded, jumping onto the bed. "Stay still," she added shakily, before pressing her head to the startled princess's chest.

_Thump, thump._

_Thump, thump._

Elsa breathed heavily, sighing in relief as she slumped into her sister's embrace.

"Elsie…what just happened?" Anna wrapped an arm around her body. "Are you…are you alright?"

The queen shook her head, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I…I had a nightmare. Y-you were frozen, you were unmoving – I couldn't do anything about it."

"Oh, Elsa…"

The princess hugged her older sister tightly, before offering a smile and gesturing down to her chest.

"Listen…" she spoke softly, and Elsa opened her ears. The sound of Anna's heartbeat was loud and strong – it was more than enough to convince Elsa that her sister was very well alive and healthy, and, well, very unfrozen.

"See, Elsa?" Anna smiled and sighed contently. "It's still beating – I'm here."

Elsa's eyes still displayed an emotion of fear and panic, but her breathing began to slow down, as well as the beat of her own heart.

"Anna…" The queen shuddered. "I…I don't know if I can keep this up; I have to live every day knowing that I could've frozen you, knowing that I could've been the reason to…to your d-death – "

"Elsie," the princess shushed her, holding two fingers to her lips. "It's not our fault; it never was. I understand what you were going through, and it's okay to feel like this. Never say it was your fault," she added. "Ever again – 'kay?"

Elsa whimpered, but she hung onto Anna tightly. "Okay," she spoke softly.

"Anna…" she started, but Anna, knowing her sister too well, was already making room next to her on the bed. "Don't ask next time," she told her with a grin, and despite herself, Elsa couldn't help but smile as well.

Anna lifted the blanket and Elsa eagerly snuggled in, happy for once to not be so cold; the warmth of her younger sister was too comforting to give up.

"Anna?"

"Hm?" The younger girl's eyes were closed, but the smile stayed on her lips.

"T-thank you," the queen said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I love you."

Anna's smile widened as she returned the kiss. "I love you too, Elsa."

There were no nightmares in the castle that night.


End file.
